Description (from the
Library of Congress): This Hebrew Pentateuch with
Haftarot (portions from the Prophets section
of the Hebrew Bible, read in synagogue on Sabbaths and holidays
following the Torah portion) added at the end was created in Sana’a,
Yemen, in 1485. The manuscript includes full vocalization, accentuation,
and Masorah annotation. The
Haftarot include the Targum, or Aramaic
translation, following each verse. Preceding the Torah text itself are
two grammatical treatises (comprising 15 leaves in total) common in
Yemen. The manuscript is written on paper in Yemenite square script, in
two columns per page, with 25 lines per column. Created by David ben
Benayah ben Saadiah ben Zekhariah, a member of a well-known family of
Yemeni scribes, the manuscript has been owned by the Hibshoosh family
since 1910. The three divisions of the Hebrew Bible are the Torah
(Pentateuch), the Prophets, and Writings or Hagiographa. The Masorah
annotations are the collection of critical notes, compiled in the
7th–10th centuries by Jewish scribes and scholars known as the
Masoretes, and accepted as the authoritative regulator of the written
and vocalized transmission of the Hebrew Bible.